95/100 Wine Enthusiast, Kerin O’Keefe
“Underbrush, camphor, cedar and mature dark-skinned fruit aromas come to the forefront along with spicy notes. Full-bodied and firmly structured but also boasting a surprising weightlessness, the palate features dried cherry, steeped prune, licorice and tobacco set against a firm backbone of tightly knit, close-grained tannins. It’s still youthfully austere so give it time to fully develop. Drink 2027?2037. ” Drink 2027 – 2037
94+/100 Parker’s wine Advocate, Monica Larner
“Considering the untimely passing of Renato Vacca in March of 2020, there is a lot of emotion coming back to this wine: It has always been an expression of Barbaresco nostalgia and romanticism, even when its creator was alive and well, working in these vines located directly under his family house. The Cantina del Pino 2017 Barbaresco Ovello bears his winemaking imprint with balance and elegance that never misses a beat. This vintage offers more density and concentration for sure, and the positioning of the Ovello cru overlooking the Tanaro River Valley sets the wine up for open-knit characteristics and suave softness. Those impressions are amplified in this vintage but are not overblown. Some 6,000 bottles were released and you get terrific value in this bottle. The wine is set to hit the market in September 2021.” Drink 2023 – 2038
94/100 Vinous, Antonio Galloni
“The 2017 Barbaresco Ovello is a superb effort for the year. Bright, aromatic and effusive, the 2017 is so expressive right out of the bottle. It has the vintage 2017 power found in all the wines here, but also the cut and verve that make Ovello one of the most distinctive sites in all of Barbaresco. It is such a gorgeous wine.” Drink 2025 – 2037